Rehman Malik is in the news again. This time, too, for the wrong reasons. A petition has been filed against him for misuse of taxpayers' money during his recent trip to India while the Indian media is still perplexed at various statements made during the visit (see box, Gaffe Attack). India wanted the visa accord signed at the secretary level but Malik, realising this was a major confidence-building measure by Pakistan, wanted to flaunt it before the international community. Never one to miss a photo-op, he flew to India to sign the accord between the two countries.

Malik is possibly the most powerful minister in Pakistan right now. As interior minister, he has at his disposal the Intelligence Bureau (IB); the Rangers, the biggest paramilitary force after the army; and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which he once headed. He is Pakistan's most colourful character; somebody everyone loves to hate. Some hate him because he has clawed his way to the top while others hate him because he is rich. He is the media's favourite punching bag because he makes a statement on anything and everything under the sun and shows no remorse in changing his stance within hours. He is a dangerous opponent but at the same time he is cute, funny and quite a charmer.

Rehman Malik, 61, an ordinary lower middle class officer, rose from the ranks in FIA. He was made FIA additional director-general in 1993 by Benazir Bhutto during her second tenure as prime minister. Malik is someone who, by sheer wit and cunning, attracted Benazir's attention. She needed a trickster to counter her many detractors in ISI and Nawaz Sharif's camp. She found that person in Malik.

Malik was not just a 'yes' man but also someone prepared to teach Benazir's opponents a lesson by bending the law. It was his utility as a handyman that endeared him to her but it was the same 'expertise' that caused others in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to hate him. Malik took full advantage of his access to the prime minister. When Benazir was ousted in 1996 and later fled the country, Malik was briefly detained. It was believed that then prime minister Nawaz Sharif wanted to arrest him again and make him an approver against Benazir. He fled to London to once again help Benazir in exile.

His real utility came when the Lahore High Court held Benazir and her husband Asif Ali Zardari guilty of money laundering. Benazir, who was in self-exile, blasted the judgment and accused Saif ur Rehman, who headed the Accountability Bureau during Sharif's government, of pressuring the judges. Around that time, an IB officer fled Pakistan and went to Europe. He carried with him a tape recording which showed how the high court judge hearing Benazir's case was bullied by Sharif to convict Benazir and Zardari. Malik presented the tape to Benazir. It was his biggest coup. Benazir was delighted. The recording was released to the media and the case thrown out. Had the corruption charges stuck, it would have permanently tarred Benazir's reputation. This was the turning point in Malik's career.

Malik now became Benazir's eyes and ears. The closer he got, the more he solicited her trust, culminating in a business partnership in the UN oil-for-food scam in Iraq. As per the National Accountability Bureau, Benazir gave a $2-million commission to Saddam Hussein's regime to win contracts worth $115 million through two Sharjah-based companies. One of the companies, Petroline FZC, was owned by Benazir, her nephew Hassan Ali Jaffery, and Malik.

Malik moved his family out of Pakistan to the UK, became a successful businessman and established himself as a man of means. While in England, he obtained British nationality. He was Benazir's top intelligence and strategic adviser. At that time, not many people had access to her and his career as a powerful and loyal aide took off. His only moment of insecurity came when Benazir was assassinated and he did not know where he stood with Zardari. Suddenly, he was the 'outsider' within PPP. Malik swiftly ingratiated himself with Zardari and today, his manoeuvrability has taken him to where he is. He has not looked back since.

Malik's approach is to be a problem solver for the party but more importantly, for President Zardari. This is the secret of his longevity. He has no qualms in flouting the authority of the prime minister and Cabinet ministers, which has made him the butt of jokes and has led to a degree of jealousy within PPP. He is the political go-between between the president and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MGM), and the president and the military; he tried to play a similar role between Zardari and Sharif but was stymied by Sharif's inherent distrust of Malik.

Malik has proved himself to be a successful diplomat by playing all sides; he swings all ways politically. He sticks his nose into everyone's business. His quick assertions and even quicker retreats are no secret. His reputation is such that he has a solution for everything but when it comes to change on the ground through implementing those solutions, he has nothing concrete to show. Whenever there is a terrorist attack or sectarian strife, Malik is quick to blame the ubiquitous 'foreign hand' or 'third force'. He thinks conspiracy sells and does not shy away from multiple conspiracy theories-from blaming jealous wives and girlfriends for killings in Karachi to warning the Pakistan cricket team that he is keeping a tab on them so they should not indulge in any match-fixing two days before the Cricket World Cup semi-final. Malik, as usual, said his comments were taken out of context.

Malik has no ideology; his motto is to survive. He looks like the busiest troubleshooter of the president. Sometimes even when he is not asked, he flies off to do just that in order to endear himself to Zardari. He knows how power works. Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, the petitioner who challenged Malik's dual nationality this May and caused some discomfort to the senator, was arrested, some say on trumped up charges. Malik's Senate membership was suspended by the Supreme Court, but true to form, he bounced back. He shed his British citizenship in June to return to the Senate.

While the army is happy with Malik, politicians, people and the media are anything but. Yet he is unflappable and never loses his cool. PPP's Zulfiqar Mirza alleged that Malik is a liar par excellence: "If he (Malik) is having an apple when you call him, he will say he is eating a banana,â€� Mirza said at a press conference in August 2011. Malik laughs off Mirza's statement. Such statements are like water off his back.

Malik's background makes him insecure as he does not belong to either the elite core of bureaucracy or the landed aristocracy of MPs. Despite his wealth, he is a bit of a loner known more for his dress sense and outlandish statements than his work. He often wears nondescript but high-quality suits and shoes and has a liking for plain silk ties. Malik is not the man you would want to displease at any cost. He is a man for all seasons. How long he will survive is another matter.